Improved washing-machine



N. PETERS. PHOTO-LITOGRAFHER. WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. R. GILL, OF CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS.

IMPaovED WASHING-MAci-HNE.

Specilication forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,653, dated May 10, 1864.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, J. R. GILL, of Charleston, in the county of Coles and State ot' Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Vashing-Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure l represents a longitudinal vertical section of my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan or top view of the same, a portion of the lid being` broken away to expose the interior mechanism.

Similar letters of reference in both views indicate corresponding parts.

This invention relates to an improvement in that class of washing-machines in which the washing is performed by squeezing and pressing the clothes repeatedly between a, swinging or reciprocating presser and between the stationary sides or ends of the tub.

The nature of my present invention and its peculiar advantages will be readily understood from the following description.

A represents a tub or suds box, made of wood or any other suitable material, and pro vided with a lid, B, which may be turned back by means of a hinge, a, in order to introduce the clothes to be washed or the water and soap. The two sides of such box form the bearings for a shaft, C, which is made of iron or other suitable material sufficiently strong and durable for the occasion 5 and suspended from this shaft, by means of three arms, b b, is the presser D. The two arms b are secured to the presser by means of screws c, and they rotate loose on the shaft O but the middle arm b is iirmly keyed to the shaft, and it terminates in a spring, bit, which connects with the presser by a looped bracket, c', so that said presser is rendered yielding, and that it will accommodate itself according to the quantity of clothes in the box.

The presser consists otl a series ot' slats, which are secured to the arms b at such distances apart that the water can freely pass through between them, and when said presser turns down toward the end d of the box the clothes are compressed between it and said end, and the dirty water escapes through the spaces between the slats.

The bottom of the box forms a segment of a circle described from the center of the shaft C, so that the lower end of the presser sweeps down over the inner surface of the bottom; and this end d of said box is corrugated to facilitate the operation of squeezing and washing. This end ofthe box is also provided with a recess, e, so that a clotheswringer of any desired construction can be readily attached to the top of the end board, d, and the lid can be opened and closed without` disturbing` said wrin ger.

The presser D is operated by a hand-lever, E, which is secured to one end ofthe shaft O by means of a nut in such a manner that it can be readily set to any desired angle toward the presser, according to the stature of the operator. The opposite end of the shaft O connects with a toggle lever, F, which is adjustable by means of a screw, c', and by which the operation of the presser is facilitated and the power of its motion is increased. This toggle-lever consists ot' two parts, which are connected together by a hinge, f, and it bears on a spiral or rubber spring, g, inclosed in thc box h, so that it is rendered yielding, and injury to any part of the machine is prevented.

By bearing down upon the middle or hinged part of .the toggle-lever the presser is forced toward the end d of the box with graduallyincreasing force, and the clothes can be compressed to any desired extent. By means of the set-screw e the toggle-lever is adjusted according to the quantity ofclothes in the box.

By this arrangement of parts a washingmachine is obtained in which clothes of any desired description can be readily Washed, and all parts of which arc so constructed that they are strong and durable and not liable to get out of order.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The oscillating shaft O, in combination with the presser D, arms b, and spring-arm b', constructed and operating in the manner and for the purpose set forth.

2. The toggle lever F, in combination with the set-screw e', sliding box h, spring g, oscillating presser D, constructed and operating in-the manner and for the purpose substantially as shown and described.

J. It. GILL.

Witnesses SAMUEL WRIGHT, A. P. DUNBAR. 

